I think it’s safe to say that Substrada‘s consistent work over the last couple of years hasn’t gone unnoticed. Enjoying releases on the likes of Locus Sound, Infernal Sounds and Dread Or Dead, the Belgian producer has become one of the more prolific in the genre and the latest imprint to recognise his excellence is FatKidOnFire, who offer him a spot on the vinyl exclusive branch of their catalogue. As the only record of it’s kind to come from FatKidOnFire this year, Substrada not only demonstrates his distinctive sound, but also joins up with two similarly talented producers, 11th Hour and Kusmo. However today I have the pleasure of presenting one of Substrada‘s anticipated solo cuts, ‘Predator Flow‘.
Whilst the a-side delivers Substrada‘s synonymous tones and textures, the pairing are in fact near opposites. The pounding subs are continuous, but the head spinning switches and additions of grizzly leads and quirky sampling throughout ‘Coolin’ With The Gang‘ couldn’t be more opposed to the steady rolling structure of the appropriately titled ‘Predator Flow‘. It’s Substrada‘s latest sub-shattering weapon and probably one of his toughest yet, laced with potent old school flavours and a sharp infectious bassline that transforms into something wild upon the second drop!
The flipside brings two equivalently dangerous collaborations. First, the astonishingly underrated Kusmo matches Substrada‘s outlandish style on ‘Wump‘, one of my favourite collaborative tunes of the year. If ever there was a tune that ‘slaps’, this would be it, because it quite literally does. To complete the set, fellow established Belgian creative 11th Hour, offers his skillset on ‘Colossus‘. With these two on the buttons, I don’t think it could’ve been anything other than an unyielding slab of punishing bass weight pressure, although this one is certainly more aggressive than I expected in all the right gun finger slinging ways.
It might be the lone vinyl release from FKOF this year, but it’s probably one of my favourite exclusives. Not only is it a solid representation of Substrada‘s dominant and exploding back catalogue, but with the addition of Kusmo and 11th Hour, it’s also one that represents the still thriving European underground.
FKOFv008 is out now and available on vinyl from the FatKidOnFire Bandcamp.
Check out Substrada on Soundcloud and Instagram.
Check out FatKidOnFire on Soundcloud and Instagram.